Educational Science

Why Is So Much Oil In the Gulf of Mexico?

An explosion on the Mariner Energy oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest in a series of drilling-related disasters in the Gulf. Why exactly are all these companies drilling in the Gulf, and where did all that oil come from anyway? Oil, the lifeblood of U.S. transportation...

Oil Slick a Mess of Swirls in Satellite Photo

A new satellite image reveals swirls of oil spreading northeast from the leaking Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil appears as a maze of silvery-gray ribbons in the photo-like image taken on Saturday, June 19, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite....

Oil has hit the fragile Gulf coast wetlands. To fight it, the mighty Mississippi River must get even mightier, scientists suggest. The battle plan is simple: Open the floodgates on the Mississippi River leg that runs through New Orleans and the rushing water will block the BP Deepwater Horizon oil...

Fungi that Make Fuel Discovered

This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Mycodiesel is a novel name applied to the volatile organic products made by fungi that have fuel potential. The latest discovery is that of an endophytic Hypoxylon/Nodulosporium species, or one that lives within a...

Oily Sheen Spotted Near Burning Gulf Oil Platform

Editor's Note: As of Friday, Sept. 3, Coast Guard officials have said no oil could be seen on the water near the Mariner Energy platform, contradicting an earlier report. An oil platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in U.S. Coast Guard helicopters rescuing 13 people from the water....

Gulf Oil Spill Update: Just the Facts

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is in its third month with no end in sight. Here's where things stand now in the Gulf of Mexico. How much oil is still gushing? No one knows exactly how much oil is escaping BP's oil collection system (series of pipes drawing oil from...

Sizing Up Oil Drilling Rigs in the Gulf

The Mariner Engery oil platform that erupted into flames in the Gulf Thursday has reportedly taken no lives, with all crew workers rescued and no signs of a leak. Even so, the accident, on the heels of the months-long Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, has sparked lots of talk on the dangers...

What Will Happen During the Next 100 Days of the Oil Spill?

Exactly 100 days after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig sent an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil per day gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, officials say engineers are on the cusp of completing a final plug on the well. But scientists say it could...

How Big Is the Gulf Oil Leak?

The size of the Gulf Oil leak increases every day, as do estimates of how quickly the oil is escaping into the sea. At this point, any statistics about the scale of the leak have grown so incomprehensibly large that they blunt any visceral understanding about the magnitude of the...